- Brendan Coyle
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Brendan Coyle Born 2 December 1963
Corby, Northamptonshire, EnglandOccupation Actor Years active 1992-present Brendan Coyle (born 2 December 1963) is a British-Irish actor.
Contents
Early life and family
Coyle was born in Corby, Northamptonshire, to an Irish father and Scottish mother;[1] his parents moved to Corby from Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Coyle holds Irish and British citizenship. He is the great nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby.[2] In September 2011 The Daily Mail ran an article mentioning Coyle's wife;[3] he later clarified that he was referring to his fictional wife on Downton Abbey.[4]
Education
He studied at a drama school in Dublin in 1981, and then received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in England in 1983.[1]
Career
Brendan Coyle received a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for his performance in Conor McPherson's The Weir and won a New York Critics Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for the same play in its New York production.[1] In 2001, Coyle appeared in the film Conspiracy as Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller. He played Kaz Sweeney in the British drama True Dare Kiss, and Nicholas Higgins on the BBC's North and South. Since 2008, he has played the pivotal part of Robert Timmins in three BBC series based on the Lark Rise to Candleford novels, written by Flora Thompson. In 2010, he began playing John Bates, a lame valet and former British Army batman of the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowes's period drama series, Downton Abbey. Fellowes wrote the part for Coyle.[5]
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes 1992 Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery Det. Sgt. Benwell TV movie The Bill Chris Bailey TV series (1 episode: "Radio Waves") 1994 Ailsa Miles Butler 1995 The Glass Virgin Manuel Mendoza TV mini-series (1 episode: "Episode #1.1") Dangerfield David Walsh TV series (2 episodes) 1996 Silent Witness Liam Slattery TV series (2 episodes) Thief Takers D.I Bob "Bingo" Tate TV series (4 episodes) 1997 The Last Bus Home Steve Burkett Tomorrow Never Dies Leading Seaman - HMS Bedford 1998 Soft Sand, Blue Sea Gerry The General UVF Leader Happy Birthday To Me short 1999 I Could Read the Sky Francie 2000 McCready and Daughter Donal McCready TV movie Paths to Freedom Jeremy Fitzgerald TV series (6 episodes) 2001 Rebel Heart Michael Collins TV mini-series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Richard Tey TV series (1 episode: "A Great Deliverance") The Bombmaker George McEvoy TV movie Conspiracy SS Maj. Gen. Heinrich Müller TV movie Mapmaker Robert Bates 2002 Rockface Douglas McLanaghan TV series (7 episodes) 2003 Waking the Dead Martin Corgan TV series (2 episodes) Single Paul TV series 2004 Amnesia D.C Ian Reid TV movie Omagh D.S John White TV movie North and South Nicholas Higgins TV mini-series (4 episodes) 2005 Allegiance Michael Collins The Jacket Damon Shameless Father Polish TV series (1 episode: "Episode #2.4") Jericho Christie TV series (3 episodes) The Ghost Squad Sgt. Ralph Allan TV series (1 episode: "Heroes") 2006 The Commander: Blacklight Carl Dirkwood TV movie Soundproof D.I Dave Cox TV movie Offside Duncan Miller Prime Suspect: The Final Act D.C.S Mitchell TV movie Perfect Parents Ed TV movie 2007 The Mark of Cain Davey Gulliver Wedding Belles Priest TV movie The Good Samaritan Lewis Farrell TV movie Damage Aidan Cahill TV movie True Dare Kiss Kaz Sweeney TV series (6 episodes) 2008 - 2010 Lark Rise to Candleford Robert Timmins TV series (31 episodes: 2008-2010) 2009 Inspector George Gently Patrick Donovan TV series(1 episode: "Gently in the Night") Perrier's Bounty Jerome Blue Murder Derek Jowell TV series (2 episodes) 2010-present Downton Abbey John Bates TV series 2011 The Raven Reagan post-production References
- ^ a b c Paddock, Terri (16 January 2006). "20 Questions With…Brendan Coyle". http://www.whatsonstage.com/interviews/theatre/london/E8821137160740/20+Questions+With%85Brendan+Coyle.html. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "True Dare Kiss: Brendan Coyle interview" (Press release). BBC Press Office. 18 June 2007. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/18/true_coyle.shtml. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "The Daily Mail: Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2031723/Downton-Abbeys-Michelle-Dockery-Whats-Essex-girl-doing-Downton-Abbey.html. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ "Brendan Coyle on Twitter". http://twitter.com/brendancoyle99/status/110427945805418496. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ "Downton Abbey characters at PBS". http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/characters.html. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
External links
Categories:- 1963 births
- Living people
- Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
- People from Corby
- Irish people of Scottish descent
- Irish actors
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